Gives You Hell
by inacityofdreams
Summary: "James! Okay, I admit it, I'm jealous! Okay? I'm jealous! Are you happy now? Are you happy that you've put me through hell?" James wrapped his arms tightly around her and she buried her head in his neck. "I'm happy that you've finally admitted it."
1. Chapter 1

** Okay, so, the song 'Gives You Hell' by the All-American Rejects came on the radio the other day and I was instantly inspired to write a Lily/James story.**

** Enjoy!**

** Oh, and I'm also very disappointed with the amount of reviews that 'How It Happened' currently has. Five-hundred and fifty one hits and only nine reviews. Wow.**

Gives You Hell

_Chapter 1_

[Plans]

_"I will never, never say yes to you, Potter! _Never_! When will you get that through your thick skull?" _

James scratched the back of his head, biting his lip.

_"Lily-"_

_ "I don't want to hear anything that comes out of your mouth. Why don't you just do me a favor and leave me the fuck alone?"_

He sighed when the quill in his hand split in half and poked his palm painfully.

_"Evans!"_

_ "Fuck off, Potter."_

Giving up, he threw his textbook and parchment off of his bed and buried his face in his hands. He wished that he could go back to dinner and fix everything. He had never meant to cause Lily so much distress. Even if he didn't have a clue of what he had done to make her so upset.

There was soft knocking on the door of the dormitory, and then Remus poked his head in. He looked worried. "James? Are you alright?"

"Come in, Moony," James replied, flopping down on his back.

Remus walked in and quietly closed the door behind him. He turned and forced a smile at James. "Uhm…I was just coming to check on you. We were worried."

"The door's been open; you could've come up sooner."

"Yes, well, Sirius told me that you probably wanted some alone time." He glanced around the room nervously and then took a seat at the edge of James' bed. "James, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just great."

"I'm sorry. I really am. Lily had no right to say any of those things. Something must've upset her before you came along. I've never seen her act like that."

"Me either."

"I don't know where she is. Mary's gone, as well, and neither Alice nor Marlene will tell anyone anything. Sirius even kissed Marlene to try and get something out of her." He shook his head, chuckling almost silently. "You should've heard some of the things that Sirius was saying about her-"

"I deserved it, didn't I?"

Remus looked up in surprise. "W-what?"

"What she said. I deserved it. I mean, I've done so many terrible things to her the past six years. Embarrassed her in front of everyone. I deserved to be told those things."

"No, James, what she said was completely out of line. Trust me."

"It wasn't, though, Moony. She's smarter than I am. She knows what she's talking about." He groaned. "I'm never going to be able to talk to her again."

Remus opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly the door busted open and in strolled Sirius and Peter. Sirius was looking rather happy, and his hands were up in the air as if he had done something heroic. Peter closed the door behind them and Sirius skipped into the middle of the room. "Guess who just came up with the most wonderful way to get that bitch Evans back?" he sang, twirling around in a circle.

James rolled his eyes. "I have no reason to 'get her back', Padfoot-"

"Shush, Prongsie! You're just in shock." He stopped dancing and took a seat next to Remus on the end of the bed. "So, Mary and Lily both just returned from what I assume is the girls' bathroom about five minutes ago, and Lily was an absolute mess. Lots of tears." He waved his hand dismissively. "But that's not the point. The thing is, she's regretting what she said. And I understand why she would, because what she did was absolutely cold-hearted."

"Sirius, where are you going with this?" James asked.

"Be quiet! What I was saying is that _you _need to get her back. Do something completely devious." He clapped his hands together. "And I, being the genius that I am, came up with the perfect plan." His eyes met James' and he bounced up and down excitedly. "Make her jealous."

"Make her jealous." James looked completely un-phased. "There's nothing to make her jealous about, though-"

"Oh, but there is. It's obvious she has a thing for you, Prongs. I mean, you didn't see how hard she was crying. She felt really bad about it."

"Okay, well, even if she did feel bad about it, you have no proof that she actually likes me. And I would never sink to that kind of level."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

"Sirius, I don't really think that Lily will be very upset about seeing James snogging a bunch of other girls," Remus piped up. "She's made it very clear that she's not interested in him. This plan makes no sense."

"Did anyone ask you, Moony?"

"Maybe he has a point, though," James thought aloud, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "What if his plan actually worked?"

"Come on, James, you're not honestly thinking about doing this, are you? It's ridiculous."

"Ridiculously brilliant," Sirius murmured.

"Lily won't get hurt, right?" James asked.

"Not any more than she hurt you, mate."

"James!"

"Moony, shush!"

"Sirius!"

"I'm in."

"I knew you would be."

_xXxXx_

_[_Beginning_]_

James stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked into the common room, which was currently buzzing with activity. He was covered in mud and rain, and his robes were dragging dirt and water in. His glasses were fogging up and his uniform felt like it weight hundreds of pounds with all of the water it had soaked up during the Quidditch match, which they had just won.

"Hey! It's James!"

The common room suddenly erupted into cheers and applause. James smiled and waved to the few people he could see. The rest of the Quidditch team dragged themselves through the portrait hole and into the room, and the crowd went even wilder. Someone grabbed James' hand and pulled him into the throng of people.

He peered through his glasses and saw that it was Angela Rode, a very attractive sixth-year prefect. He smiled at her and she batted her eyes flirtatiously at him. "That was a really amazing game," she purred, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Thanks. We all worked really hard to win." His eyes searched the room for a sign of the red-head who he really needed to be there.

"I think that you did the best job, though."

He looked back down at her and groaned slightly. She was extremely close to him. Dangerously close. And she was so pretty. But Lily needed to be there. She had to, or the whole point would be lost.

"James?"

There she was! Congratulating one of the Beaters near the window. He grabbed Angela's arm and pulled her feet away from where she was, and then crushed his lips against hers. She responded so quickly and so passionately that he had to keep himself from opening his eyes in surprise. His arms automatically curled themselves around her waist and she pushed herself closer to him, closing all of the distance between them.

Her hands raked through his hair hungrily and, not knowing what else to do, he let his hands wander further down her back.

"Disgusting."

It was Lily. He heard her footsteps storm away and up the stairs leading to the Head Boy and Girl common room and dormitories. He would've given anything in the world to go with her, but currently he had a girl wrapped around him.

It was nearly ten minutes later when they pulled themselves apart, and James' head was spinning from lack of air. Angela had on a pleased smile and she ruffled his hair affectionately. "Good game, James. I'll see you around."

He watched her canter off, his mouth hanging wide open.

**Okay, I hope that was alright! I know that it wasn't the best, but hopefully the next chapters will be better **_**and **_**longer. But, then again, I am famous for my ridiculously irritating short chapters.**

** Before you leave, make sure you leave a **_**review!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Let me just say that I was absolutely blown away by the response I got from the first chapter! Thank you so much to all of the people who left reviews! **

** And to all of you wonderful readers who are wondering, I'll (hopefully) be updating every ****Saturday****. Sometimes I might update earlier or later, though, it just depends. Obviously this time I updated early.**

** Enjoy!**

Gives You Hell

Chapter 2

_[_Pretty Girl_]_

Genevieve Laurence was one of the prettiest girls in the whole entire school. She had long, wavy blonde hair that flowed perfectly down her back, and her eyes were a beautiful shade of ice blue. Her skin was a very light olive color, and there seemed to be no blemishes on it. Her body was one that most of the girls to die for, with its extreme curves and vuluminous areas. A rumor had spread through the school that she was part veela.

She was not, however, a very nice girl. Her family was wealthy, and she knew the power her looks had on people, and she used both of these things to her advantage. She only went out with the most attractive boys, and most of them were from her own House, Gryffindor. Her standards were extremely high.

Which was the exact reason why James was fretful to try and even approach her. Sirius had told him that it wasn't a big deal, he had gone out with her and had done _many _things with her, and she wasn't as perfect as she seemed.

"I can't do this," James choked when he was sitting with his fellow Marauders in the Gryffindor common room. Genevieve was doing homework with one of her friends in the corner of the room.

"Yes you can!" Sirius replied. "Evans is right over there, this will be the perfect moment! And the perfect girl. Evie's absolutely to die for."

"This is a bad idea," Remus muttered, rolling his eyes.

James made a kind of whining sound in the back of his throat and glanced nervously between Genevieve and Lily. His stomach twisted, but he got to his feet anyway. "I'm James Potter," he whispered, pumping his fists. "I can do this."

"There you go!" Sirius laughed, pushing his friend forward.

James gulped, but continued to walk towards her. He ruffled his hair and stuffed his hands in his pockets, then slid into the seat across from her. She and her friend looked up, both raising their eyebrows skeptically.

"James," Genevieve said, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "What are you doing over here?"

"I wanted to talk to you," he replied, leaning across the table and giving her his famous crooked smile.

Her friend glared at him, then swung her legs out from under the table and left.

Genevieve rolled her eyes dramatically. "Don't mind Clemence, she's just jealous that you're hitting on _me _instead of her. She's had the biggest crush on you since first year."

His eyes widened. "Oh. Wait, how'd you know I was about to hit on you?"

She smiled. "Boys don't talk to me because they want to be my friend, James. They talk to me because they want to get under my skirt."

He blushed. "Oh, that's not really-"

"Quiet. I know exactly what you want. And I'd be glad to give it to you. You're quite the attractive guy. Almost as nice-looking as your friend Sirius, over there." Her eyes wandered over to Sirius' figure, and she looked a little dreamy, but snapped out of it quickly and turned back to James. "I don't do boyfriends, though. I'm not very good with the whole relationship thing, what with so many boys being interested in me."

"I wasn't really intending on building a relationship with you, anyway. You're just a very pretty girl, and I would love to get-"

Suddenly, her lips were on his and they were both leaning over the table and snogging each other senselessly. James couldn't help but think that this was the most uncomfortable kissing he'd ever taken part it, with the edge of the table digging into his stomach. He broke apart from her and mumbled, "Let's head up to my dormitory."

Her eyes lit up and she bit her lip. "Great." She slid out of her seat and grabbed his hand, then led him up into his dorm.

She threw him onto his four-poster and climbed on top of him, then ran her fingers through his hair. "You know, I've always had a bit of a crush on you, James," she giggled before kissing him again. "I was just-too shy-to ever ask you. I mean-with all of the-stuff with Lily-Evans."

"Oh really?" he mumbled between kisses, wondering why in the world she was attempting to have a full conversation when they were in the middle of something like this.

She suddenly stopped kissing him and laid her hands on his chest, eyeing him carefully. "What happened between you and Lily Evans, anyway?"

"Nothing, nothing. I just…I got over her."

"Hmmm. Alright."

He sighed, then grabbed her by the shoulders and rolled over so that he was on top of her. She giggled, blushing. "Now, enough about Lily, okay?"

"So sorry."

"No problem. Oh, wait." He pulled his wand out of his pocket and turned it towards the door. "_Coloportus._"

_[_Fight Fire with Fire_]_

James stumbled down the stairs, Genevieve right behind him, a sly smile on her flawless face. His hair was even more disheveled than usual, and he looked absolutely blown away. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, she lightly kissed his cheek and then trotted off to her friends, and he made his way over to his usual armchair.

Sirius was laying on the floor with his Transfiguration book sprawled across his chest, Remus was talking to one of the Gryffindor prefects on the couch, and Peter was scribbling something down on a piece of parchment near the fireplace. When he realized that his best friend was there, Sirius bolted upright and smiled knowingly. "How was it?"

"Bloody brilliant," James murmured, distractedly running his fingers through his hair. "Genevieve's am-"

"James Potter!"

He whirled around to see Lily stomping towards him, her red hair billowing behind her. She paused right in front of his arm chair and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Uh…yes?" he asked lamely.

"Where the bloody hell were you? We were supposed to be doing our rounds, but I couldn't find you anywhere!"

He grinned sheepishly and pointed lazily to the stairs. "I was just-"

"Oh, I know exactly what you were doing upstairs with that slag Genevieve Laurence. Shagging instead of doing your Head Boy duties? Just wait until McGonagall hears about this."

"Oh come off it, Evans, you wouldn't tell McGonagall something like that! It was a mistake, I wasn't aware we had to patrol toni-"

"Save it for the judge, Potter. I'm getting sick of your idiotic antics." She turned to leave, but stopped short and threw, "Make sure you're there next time," over her shoulder before walking off.

After collecting himself from the shock of seeing her so angry with him, James turned back around in his seat and scratched his forehead. "You don't really think that she'd tell McGonagall something like that, do you?"

"No," Sirius replied. "She'd get too embarrassed to say the word 'shag' in front of a professor. Don't worry about it."

"I'm surprised she didn't take off House Points," Remus commented.

"I didn't do anything, though!"

"Apparently to her you did," Peter pointed out.

"She's just jealous, Prongs. See, told you my plan would work."

"I'm not exactly liking this plan anymore," James mumbled, resting his head on his hand. "Seeing Lily this upset isn't as fun as I thought it would be."

"Just think about how much pain she put you through!" Sirius goaded. "And-and how now you can shag as many girls as you want, for a good cause! Think about it!"

"You know, did you two ever once think about what you would do if Lily tried to strike back?" Remus asked, sliding down the couch so he was closer to the pair. "If she fought fire with fire?"

"What are you talking about, Moony?"

"Yes, spit it out, please."

"Lily's a smart girl, James. She's bound to figure out this little plan of yours eventually. So, what if she decided that she's going to make _you _jealous. Snog and shag as many boys as you do girls."

"She'd never do that," James snapped, a little defensively. "Lily's too good and pure."

"Alright, fine. Forget I said anything."

"Don't worry, Prongsie, Moony's just jealous that you're getting all the girls and he's still a lonely old wet blanket."

"Excuse me?"

"You know, I bet I could get you a girlfriend, Moony. There's this pretty little sixth-year Ravenclaw who I've noticed has been checking you out whenever we pass her in the corridors."

"You do realize you kill everyone's' brain cells when you tall, right, Padfoot?" Remus hissed, then returned to the other end of the couch.

**I hope this chapter was good enough! I also hope that I get the same response as I did last chapter! Oh, and to all of my American readers, sorry that I forgot about it last chapter, but Happy Thanksgiving! :D**

** Before you leave make sure you leave a **_**review**_**!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you all for you reviews/favorites/alerts! I'm so happy about the response I've been getting!**

** Just a warning, this chapter was unbelievably hard to write because I have the worst writer's block ever, but I really wanted to give you guys a chapter so I forced this one out of my stubborn brain.**

** Enjoy!**

_[_Jealousy?_]_

"Evans, sorry I'm late, I was busy-"

"Save it for someone else, Potter," Lily replied icily, waving her hand dismissively at him. She walked away from the portrait hole and down the corridor. He ran after her.

"Is something wrong, Evans?" he asked, tucking his hands away in his pockets and watching her carefully. "You've been in an off mood lately."

"I've been in the same exact mood as I am every day when I'm around you lately," she said pointedly.

"I didn't really think so, but okay. Whatever you say."

She let out a long breath and then rolled her eyes. "Where were you just now? Why were you late for rounds?"

He stared at her in surprise, but then swallowed and shrugged. "I got caught up with something-"

"_Someone_," she corrected. "You got caught up with someone. Who was it?"

"What-?"

"Who was it this time, Potter? I know that you've been getting around with girls lately. I just want to know who it was this time."

"Julianne. Julianne Roberts."

"She's on the Quidditch team with you," Lily commented.

"Y-yeah."

"I see."

"Lily?"

"I thought I told you not to call me that?"

"I don't care right now," he said worriedly, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her towards him. She turned around and stared at him for a moment, but then fought her shoulder free from his grip and gave him a disgusted look.

"Go back to Juli, Potter. I don't want to talk to you right now. I don't even want to see you."

"Evans!" He gave her a pleading look before she spun back around and ran down the hallway.

_[_Cold Feet_]_

"You're a really good kisser," Evaline giggled as she rested her forehead against James' and smiled at him.

He replied with a forced smile and thought, _Wish I could say the same thing about you_. Yes, Evaline McDonald was pretty. Gorgeous, even, with her mile-long curls and deep brown eyes. When she moved it made any guy want to move with her. She was perfect.

And yet, as he ran his hands down her back and she crammed her lips onto his once more, he couldn't help but wish that he was somewhere else.

"Evaline," he murmured, disconnecting their lips and lightly pushing her away from him. "I'm not feeling very good right now. I think I'm going to go take a bath or something."

Her eyes filled with disappointment, but then lit up with hope. "Oooh, would you like me to join you?"

He shook his head, probably a little too vigorously. "Er…no. I'm…going to go to the prefects' bathroom. I'm sorry." He pushed himself off of the couch and practically sprinted out of the common room.

The corridors were nearly deserted, most of the students already in their common rooms, safe from being spotted from Filch and given detentions. The only people James passed were students running late or other mischief-makers finishing some last-minute prank. He nodded to these, giving them his approval.

When he finally reached the prefects' bathroom, he hurriedly stripped off of his clothes and stepped into the water. He let the warmth engulf him, and didn't even pay attention to the sickening smell of perfume bubbles that filled the air.

"Potter?"

He whirled around, soap and water flying everywhere, and saw Lily standing by the doorway, her cheeks dark red. She attempted to glare at him, but just ended up looking at her feet.

"Evening, Evans," he replied, lacking his usual brightness.

She seemed to notice, because she took a step towards him, but then seemed to realize that it was James and that he was currently naked and that if she went too far she would be able to see him naked, so then took two steps back. "What are you doing in here, Potter? It's past curfew?"

"I don't give a damn about curfew. You and I both know that."

"I would've expected you to be with some girl right now."

"I'm not feeling good."

"She must be upset she wasn't allowed to come with you."

"She probably was."

"I'd imagine so."

"Evans?"

"Y-yes?"

"You're staring at me."

Her eyes widened and her cheeks grew even darker. He smiled at her, probably the only genuine smile he had put on his face since she had yelled at him the night before. Her eyes-which were just scanning over his chest hungrily-flew down to her feet.

"It's alright; I know that I'm irresistible."

"You are not."

He leaned over the edge of the bath and winked flirtatiously at her. "Oh really? I've heard otherwise."

She rolled her eyes dramatically. "You are so egotistical, Potter."

"You know, I would pull you in here with me, if it wasn't for the fact that I have no clothes on."

"Is James Potter afraid of what I think of his body without any clothes on?" she teased, looking him in the eye again.

Now _his _cheeks filled with the lightest bit of pink. "Of course not."

"Mmhmm."

"What are you in here for, Evans?"

She blinked at him, then shook her head as if to clear it. "Uh…nothing. I was just…coming…I was planning on taking a bath, actually."

"Oh. I see. Well, you can have this one. I'm done." He pretended to lift himself out of the water, but stopped when Lily let out a quiet scream.

"Are you an idiot, Potter!" she snapped, her hand covering her eyes. "You can't just get out of the water like that! I don't want to see you naked!"

"Close your bloody eyes then," he replied, stepping out of the water and pulling a towel off of the rack. "Merlin, Evans."

"Are you decent yet?"

"Yes."

She slowly opened her eyes, which immediately locked on his exposed abdomen. Her breath caught in her throat when her eyes traced over the defined abs and pecks and perfectly sculpted shoulders. It took all of her strength not to let a whine escape her lips.

"Leering, Evans," James laughed, snapping her out of her daze.

"Get out, Potter."

He picked up his clothes and trotted over to the boys' changing room, but not before throwing, "I'm glad you're talking to me again," over his shoulder.

**Mehh. Any kind of feedback is fantastic! And I'll hungrily accept and suggestions you guys can think of!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T UPDATE LAST WEEK! Or yesterday for that matter. But in my defense I was at a party all of the previous night and didn't get home until seven yesterday evening. And last weekend it was just because of my extreme laziness that I did not update.**

** Anyway, I just wanted to thank everyone who reviews/alerted/favorited. They all made me so happy! **

** Due to the fact that Christmas falls on a Sunday and I won't be able to update this coming Saturday, I thought I would make this chapter a Christmas chapter! Enjoy!**

** P.S-This one is a lot shorter than the others. I don't know why.**

James smiled at the Christmas lights that Sirius had enchanted to blink above the fireplace. He held a small wrapped box in his hands, and was nervously twirling it around while he waited for her to come.

Girls passed him by. Evaline Ellaine, a sixth year he had spent the night before with, eventually took a seat on the couch next to him and smiled at the gift. "Is that for me?" she giggled, inching towards him and looking hopefully into his eyes.

"Oh, Evaline, n-no. Last night was just…just for fun."

She raised an eyebrow, then pushed herself off of the couch and glared at him. "I'll remember this, Potter."

Sirius came over, laughing quietly when he saw Evaline storm away, and then took her seat. He eyes the box sympathetically, then patted his friend on the shoulder. "Please tell me you're going to use that to seduce some innocent girl."

James shook his head. "It's Christmas, Padfoot, I wanted to do something special."

"Yes, but you're going to ruin the whole plan. You've got to let Evans admit that she loves you before you can go around buying her presents."

"Go away."

Sirius took a deep breath, then shook his head and got to his feet. "Alright, if you're going to be stubborn, then I might as well show you now. Come along, mate."

"What are you talking about? I can't leave; I've got to wait for Lily."

"She isn't coming."

"What are you talking about?"

"Get up. I'll show you what I'm talking about."

James reluctantly stood up. "Is she sick? Did something happen?"

"Oh, something happened all right. Something you're not going to be very fond of."

"What's going on?"

"Just come on." Sirius led him away from the couch and up the stairs leading to the boys' dormitories. He pushed open their door and let James walk ahead of him.

Lily was snogging David McLaggen-the fifth boy in their year-on his bed. Her shirt was half unbuttoned and her pants were unzipped, while her hair was a mess and his shirt was off. They didn't seem to notice the two boys standing in the doorway, though, until James dropped the box on the floor and the necklace spilled out.

The pairing leaped apart and stared at the intruders. Lily quickly covered up her exposed chest and gaped at James. "J-James, what are you doing up here? What's that?"

"What are _you _doing up here, Lily?" James whispered.

"I was just…er…nothing."

James turned his gaze on David, who cringed and looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "Get out of here, McLaggen."

Without any words of protest, David picked up his shirt from the floor and ran down the stairs, leaving James, Sirius and Lily alone.

"James, is that a diamond necklace?" Lily asked quietly, her eyes locked on the jewelry lying in the middle of the floor.

James picked it up and stuffed it inside of his pocket. "It was supposed to be for you. But I can tell that you don't want it. I'll just return it then."

Lily got to her feet, quickly buttoning up her shirt and zipping her pants, then slowly walked over to him. "James, you didn't have to get me a gift. And that…that wasn't what it looked like."

"Then what was it? Because it looked a hell of a lot like you were just snogging that prat McLaggen!"'

She looked at the ground. "I was trying to get back at you."

"Get back at me?"

Her eyes met his again, and she looked a bit angry. "Yes, James, get back at you. Do you know what it's been like for me, having to watch you snog random girls every night? I was just trying to give you a taste of your own medicine."

"Well, thanks, because now I know that it feels like shit." He looked away from her. "I'll see you around, Evans."

She grabbed his hands. "James, no, please, you have to understand-"

He ripped his hands free from her grasp and turned to leave. "Get your stuff together. Unless you'd like me to tell McLaggen to come back up so you two can finish."

"James!"

"I'm sorry, Lily," he replied shakily, pulling the necklace back out of his pocket and thrusting it into her hand. "Here, you deserve it. Merry Christmas."

She watched him walk away with her mouth still open, thinking that it wasn't really that merry of a Christmas.

**Awh, sad! Please leave me some feedback, and any ideas that you have for the upcoming chapters will be highly appreciated! Thanks so much!**

** And I hope you all have a very fun, **_**safe**_**, very Merry Christmas!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'VE COME BACK FROM THE DEAD! Gosh, how long has it been since I've last updated? Two months? I'm so, so, so unbelievably sorry to leave you guys hanging like that. It's a good thing I didn't leave off at a cliff-hanger last chapter!**

** Anyway, I just want to thank every single one of you who has reviewed/alerted or favorited this story! It means **_**so **_**much to me! Plus, we've gotten to 3,502 hits! Wow!**

** Here is the long-awaited Chapter Four!**

Gives You Hell

_Chapter Five_

_[_Rain_]_

The storm outside was dreadful, but James ignored the rain pelting his face and blurring his vision and whipped around the vacant Quidditch field nonetheless. It was ridiculous, he thought bitterly, that it was raining in the middle of winter. He and the Marauders desperately needed a whole weekend to simply goof off and have one of their legendary snowball fights.

It wasn't really the weather that was getting him so down. It had been a week since he had caught Lily with McLaggen, and his heart was still trying-and failing-to repair itself. He'd spent the last five days ignoring and dodging her as best as he could, and he had only failed once when she had cornered him in the library. But he got himself out of that one by waving rapidly to a very pretty Ravenclaw, which instantly pissed Lily off to no extent and sent her storming away.

The process of staying away from his beloved red-head was extremely exhausting and painful. He longed to hear her beautiful voice, even if it was just to insult him. And he was much too quickly forgetting the smell of her perfume, and the detail of those gorgeous green eyes of hers was slowly ebbing out of his mind. It was too much for him, but what choice did he have, exactly? What she had done was unforgivable.

He stopped zipping around and landed on the muddy ground, chewing his lip as he thought. Hadn't he done the exact same thing to her, only worse? No, of course not! He shook his head, sending droplets of water from his matted down hair to join the downpour. Lily didn't feel for him the way he felt for her, so she couldn't have been hurt nearly as much as he was. But, then again, hadn't she yelled at him and purposely dodged him whenever he was around a new girl?

"Stop it," he muttered to himself, starting to make his way through the rain and back to the castle. "You're right and she's wrong. Just leave it alone."

_[_Chaos_]_

The Gryffindor common room was crowded as ever, with students of all ages hurrying to get their homework done last minute. First years were begging the older kids for help, while the older kids were begging their fellow classmates for help. It was the usual Sunday night routine, only tonight, James and the Marauders weren't helping to cause total and complete chaos.

"I'm booooored," Sirius complained, his head hanging upside down off the couch. "Moony, tell Prongs to stop being a lazy prat and do something."

Remus flipped the page in his book. "Prongs, stop being a lazy prat and do something."

"I'm too depressed to do anything," James replied quietly, keeping his eyes on the crackling fire.

"I'll do something with you, Padfoot!" Peter chirped from his seat on the floor. "Can we raid the kitchens? I'm starving."

"Don't be ridiculous, Wormtail, I can't be seen in public with just you. It would completely ruin my reputation." He ignored Remus' snide comment of, 'What reputation, exactly?' and continued on. "I mean, either we all go, Prongs and I go, or none of us go. So, Prongs, get your ass off of that chair and let's go do something fun!"

James simply sighed.

"This is hopeless," Sirius grumbled.

"You know, Sirius, you're more than capable of causing your own kind of havoc on the world with just yourself," Remus commented dryly. "You don't need us."

"Ah, but it's more fun to have a buddy, you know? Just because I'm obviously the most popular of this group, doesn't mean I don't get lonely some times. I need my best mates."

"You're voice is irritating me," James hissed.

"Yes, well, your face has been irritating me for the past seven years, but I haven't pointed it out!"

James rose to his feet, closing his textbook and dropped it onto the seat. "I'm going to go get a head start on rounds, this way I'll miss Evans. I'll see you three later." He waved half-heartedly and left the room without a second glance.

Remus turned his attention to the still whining Sirius. "I'm starting to really worry about him. I assume it's time we meddle in his business."

Sirius shot up and stared at the sandy-haired werewolf as if he were Merlin himself. "Really? Oh, Moony! Finally, you've suggested something fun! When can we start?"

"As soon as possible. I've never seen a case of Lily-love sickness as bad as this one. We need to come up with a steady plan that will surely cheer James up once more."

"I've got it-"

"Not from you," Remus cut Sirius off. "You suggested the last plan, which created the whole mess. Peter, we rarely give enough credit to you. Do you have an idea?"

Peter scrunched his face up in concentration. "Well, James is really stubborn, so of course he's not going to apologize. Maybe we should make Lily do it first."

"Great plan, mate, but there's just one flaw. Lily's equally, if not more, stubborn than ol' Prongsie," Sirius pointed out. "She'll never admit she was wrong. Especially since she wasn't."

Remus snapped his fingers and his face lit up with a brilliant idea. "I've got it! Sirius, you're still dating that blonde from Hufflepuff right?"

"I don't know if _dating _is the correct term. It's more just shagging with us-"

"Perfect. I'll need you to get a hold of her immediately. I'll take care of Lily, and Peter will get James. I'm going to need them all outside of the Owlery tomorrow morning at seven o' clock sharp. Got it?"

"Yes, but what exactly are we doing?" Peter asked, holding up a questioning finger.

"Just leave that part to me, alright? But please, Peter, make sure you don't forget where we're meeting. And Sirius, don't you dare get distracted and head off to a broom cupboard on the way. I'll make sure you regret the decision if you do."

"Fine."

Remus stood up and gathered his things. "I'll see you all in the morning. Bright and early."

They nodded and watched him leave.

**Thank you so much for reading! I (hope to) have Chapter 6 up by this Saturday so I can get back in the groove of things! At the moment I have no plans for this weekend, so I think I will be able to! Yey!**

** Reviews are better than music.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I am so sorry I'm the biggest liar ever! This weekend I was at my friend's house and when I got home I was too tired to do anything but shower and eat. I know I could have typed this yesterday or the day before, but I haven't had enough time with school. I'm really, truly sorry!**

**I know all of you asked for longer chapters, but even this meager amount of words were unbelievably hard to pry from my unwilling brain. Next chapter ****will ****be longer, I swear! **

**Please enjoy chapter six!**

Gives You Hell

Chapter Six

_[_Adding Effect_]_

Peter shoved James very harshly against the wall and pointed his wand at his neck. "I'm sorry I have to do this, Prongs, I really am," he panted dramatically, sweat dripping down his forehead from the effort of getting his friend up to the Owlery. "It's for your own good, though. I promise."

James raised an eyebrow, obviously un-phased by the chubby boy's sad excuse for being threatening. "What are you doing, Wormtail? Gonna turn my eyebrows green again or something? Ooooh, scary."

Peter opened his mouth to reply, but just then Sirius appeared with Monica Barry, his current girlfriend. "Good morning, Prongsie!" Sirius greeted cheerily, and then nodded to Peter. "I brought the girl!"

James rolled his eyes irritably. "Will somebody please tell me what I'm doing up here? And why the bloody hell are my hands tied together?"

"Wormail, Moony never said anything about tying him up."

"I thought it would add effect," Peter squeaked, but then hurried to untie him.

"Anyway, I'm here to tell Monica that I'm breaking up with her because my dearest friend James is in love with her and that he would do anything to kiss her just once," Sirius said loudly.

"Excuse me?" the blonde shouted, placing a hand on her hip and glaring at him. "You're _breaking up with me_?"

"Yes, I'm so sorry about it. I really do like you. You've got a very pretty face and a killer rack and you're excellent in bed. But my friends must come first, and if James wants you, he can have you."

"Who said I want him?"

Sirius leaned in close to her and whispered in her ear. "We're not really over. I just…I need you to kiss James until Lily Evans shows up. Please?" He placed a hand on her leg and lowered his voice to a more seductive octave. "I'll make up for it later."

He pulled away and she blushed like mad, but smoothed her skirt and nodded. "Alright. Good riddance, then." She winked.

James gaped at them both. "Are you kidding me? Monica, I'm _not _in love with you!"

Sirius grabbed Peter's hand and began pulling him away. "We'll see you two later! Have fun!" With that, he zipped off down the corridor.

James and Monica turned to each other. "Look, I'm really confused right now, and I think I'm going to g-"

Before he could finish what he was saying, she threw herself on him and began kissing him like a maniac. At first he recoiled and tried to force her off of him, but then he figured she was a fairly good kisser and that he hadn't been kissed in a while and why the hell not? So he put his hands on her hips and kissed her back until the sound of his name being shouted with immense fury broke them apart.

Lily was standing with a mixed look of desperation and loathing. "James Potter! You inconsiderate pig!"

"Pardon me?" he asked sarcastically. "You should be talking!"

Monica slid away from them without being noticed and took off after Sirius.

"I kissed one person, James! _One person_! This was probably the thirtieth time I've caught you snogging some unimportant slag!"

He was coming up with a good argument in his head when his shoulders relaxed and he was hit by a sudden realization. "What did you just call me?"

"What? James, but I don't see what that has to do with any-" She froze and her cheeks lit up with pink. "Potter, I-I meant Potter."

"Lily, I need you tell me the truth. Why do you get so upset when you see me kissing other girls?"

It looked as if she were holding something in. Her face grew bright red and then suddenly she was shouting at him. "James! Okay, I admit it, I'm jealous! Okay? I'm jealous! Are you happy now? Are you happy that you've put me through hell?"

His eyes softened as he looked at her. "Of course not. I'm just glad you've finally admitted it." He reached his arms out and pulled her into a hug, letting her bury her head in his shoulder. "You should have said something. I hate seeing you upset."

"I hate myself," she muttered bitterly. "This is wrong." She pushed herself away from him and blinked her tear-filled eyes up at him. "You're Potter and I'm Lily and this should not be happening. I can't like you. It doesn't work like that!"

"Don't say things like that. We're perfect for each other, Lily. I know it and you know it, too. It's okay to be afraid."

She shook his arms off of hers and wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "I'm sorry, but I'm not ready for this. I need time to think and sort out my feelings. Please, just give me some time."

"Oh, o-okay. You can have all the time you need."

She nodded shakily and then reached up on her tip-toes and planted a light kiss on his cheek. "I'm sorry." She turned to walk away, but he grabbed her wrist in the way he had a million times before.

"Hey Evans, when you're through thinking, say yes, okay?" Her wrist slipped out of his and she was gone, and he watched her go with the tingle of her kiss still on his cheek.

**Sigh, I don't really know how I feel about this chapter. I think I definitely could have done better, but this is the best I could come up with. **

**Please, please leave a review! They mean so much to me!**

**Also, if you have a tumblr, I would love it if you checked mine out! My URL is riddleswhorecrux, so go and FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW! If you want me to check your blog out as well, don't be afraid to ask!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm not even going to try to explain how deely sorry I am for taking so long to update. Just…sigh.**

** So I tried to give you guys a longer chapter and I think that I might have possibly succeeded! **

** Once again thanks to every single person who reviewed/favorited/alerted. You guys are amazing!**

Gives You Hell

_Chapter 7_

_[_The Apology Letter_]_

"What's happening, mate?" Sirius asked as he threw himself onto his own four-poster. "You look busy."

James shook his head and continued writing. "I'm attempting to write Evans an apology," he sighed. "After all the things I've done to her, I don't think there's anything else to do."

"Of course there is! Lots of things. A pathetic note isn't going to do anything for her heart. What you need to do is _charm _the girl. Show her how much you truly care. Otherwise you'll just be the same sniveling idiot you've always been to her."

"Sorry, Padfoot, but I couldn't hear you over the sound of stupidity. What were you saying?"

Sirius stuck his nose in the air and sniffed. "Well, if you want to be that way, I just won't provide my help anymore."

"Help?" James scoffed. "_Help? _Sirius, I'm afraid you haven't done anything to improve my chances with Evans. Only made them worse. Much, much, much worse. So why don't you go twiddle your thumbs in the corner or something while I finish writing this, alright?"

"Not alright! Prongs, I may have possibly been a little bit wrong before, but I know what I'm talking about now! Lily isn't going to think twice about that stupid bloody note. She'll just crumple it up and walk away. Hell, she probably won't even read it. You're wasting your time."

"Leave me alone," James snapped.

The door swung open and Remus joined them, Peter following along behind him. They each took seats on their own beds and eyed James carefully. "Is Prongs actually doing his _own _homework?" Remus asked, disbelief ringing in his voice.

"No," Sirius answered bitterly. "He's writing Lily an apology letter."

"Oh. How interesting. Is it going well, Prongs?"

"Moony! Tell him it's not going to work!" Sirius whined.

"Moony, tell Sirius to shut his damn mouth," James barked.

The room grew silent for a few minutes, but then Remus nodded. "I have to agree with Sirius here. You hurt Lily a lot. A slip of paper isn't going to help anything. She'll probably just think you made me write it or something. You've got to do something that comes from the heart. To show her how sorry you truly are."

James threw the paper and quill across the room, then chucked the bottle of ink at Sirius and watched in approval when it splattered all over his friend's face. But when the entertainment was over, he turned to Remus. "Help me, then. Sirius is no help. His ideas are terrible. Moony, please. I just…I just want her back. Even if we go back to the same hate-love relationship we had before. It's been almost a week and she hasn't said anything to me!" He dropped his head and stared at his hands. "I miss her terribly. Even her insults and death threats."

Remus' eyes softened, but then lit up with determination. "Alright then, mate. Let's get started. We need a full-proof plan now. But not one that will make Lily jealous. One that will show Lily how much James really loves her. Any suggestions?"

Sirius' hand shot up almost instantly. "Ooh me!"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Fine, yes, you."

"I say we set the two up on a simple date in the middle of the Quidditch field." He watched the others, waiting for it to sink in, and when no one said anything he slapped his knee. "Then nature will take its course and everything will fix itself!"

James sent a pillow flying in Sirius' direction and it slammed him in his already ink-soaked face. "Does your mind provide _any _good ideas?"

Remus held up a hand. "Hmm, that could actually work. Brilliant idea, Padfoot! We'll just have to work out the few chinks in the idea, but then the whole thing should unfold nicely." He turned to the open-mouthed James. "What? I know you think that you have to apologize and beg Lily for her forgiveness, but this will work much…smoother, if you say. Trust me on this, mate. Just trust me."

James opened his mouth to argue, but it was hard when he was trying to fight with the smartest kid in the school. So he simply shrugged his shoulders in defeat and suggested that they eat something, because according to the giggling fifth-year girls in the common room, food made you feel better.

"Anything that cheers you up, Prongs," Peter told him sympathetically.

_[_Kind of Like a Peace Treaty_]_

The sun was shining and a light breeze was blowing, causing the picnic blanket James had set out to ruffle slightly and lift its corners off of the ground. He was rummaging through the picnic basket, searching for the candles that Remus had placed inside. When he finally found them and was tugging them out, he looked up to see Lily standing a few feet from him, a sad smile on her face.

"Lily. H-hi," James stammered, setting the candles on the blanket. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," she said simply. "Potter, what is this? Remus told me that Monica had to tell me something, and I come out here to find you setting up a picnic?"

"Uh…er…I was just thinking that maybe we could have lunch together. Kind of like a…a peace treaty, you know?"

"A peace treaty." She bit her lip. "I see."

He motioned towards the plate set out for her. "Would you like to join me?"

She thought about it for a minute, and then nodded. "Sure. Why not?"

Once she took her seat, he backed up and sat down across from her. "There's lots of food. I've got turkey sandwiches- Marlene told me they were your favorite-, pickles, breadsticks, applesauce. You can choose from lemonade or pumpkin juice. Here's a glass." He handed it to her and gave her a shaky smile. "What would you like? Pickles?" He picked up the jar.

She shook her head, the smile still on her face. "I'm not a big fan of pickles," she said softly.

His shoulders sagged but he just shook it off and placed the jar back on the ground. "Okay, then. Breadsticks? Applesauce?" He pushed them towards her.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, quietly chewing their food and looking around the Quidditch field, their eyes never meeting each other. Finally, James couldn't take it any longer.

"Lily, I'm so sorry. No, sorry doesn't even cut it. I don't know what word does, actually. I never should have acted like that. I'm an immature prat."

She stared at him for a while. "I pushed you to do it, though, didn't I? It's okay. You didn't actually think it would affect me in the way it did. I know you just thought it would be a fun little game to play." Her voice shook with sadness and he saw her bottom lip tremble. "It's hard, though, to try and say I accept your apology when it hurt so much."

"You should've told me what you were feeling. I would have stopped." He sighed. "Then again, I saw how much it pissed you off. I just didn't want to get my hopes up and think that maybe you were getting jealous. I told myself over and over again to think that you just disgusted with how much of a pig you were being. I knew you were upset, though. I'm an ass."

"I was too scared to tell you to stop. These feelings…they're all new to me. I've only ever had two boyfriends, not including that idiot Cormack. I don't know how to handle these things except for crying in my bedroom all alone. I'm not good with talking about my feelings, either, which didn't help at all." She picked a few crumbs off of her plate and tossed them into the grass, shaking her head. "We're both idiots, you know."

"No. You're not an idiot. And I'd understand completely if you said no after all of this. I just…I can't live without you, Lily. I need you in my life, even if it's just to insult me. You're one of the best things that ever happened to me, and I can't stand even the thought of losing you forever.

He lifted his gaze to match hers and they looked into each other's eyes for what seemed like forever. James' heart sped up and Lily's breath was caught in her throat. They didn't know what to do now, though, when both of their feelings were so tangled and messed up that it seemed like there was no hope of fixing it. So they just sat and stared, each one trying to think of the right thing to say.

"Apologies aren't going to work this time, are they?" James whispered.

"I don't know. I mean, they never really did in the first place, did they?"

They both broke into smiles and broke their gazes. Lily scooted her hand across the blanket and placed it on top of his.

"I'm not sure how this is going to work out, but maybe…maybe we can try. If that's okay with you," she said softly.

His eyes widened and he was almost sure that his heart was going to explode. "Yes! Yes, of course it's okay with me!"

She laughed. "Good. I'm glad. Now, what were you saying about me being the greatest thing that ever happened to you?"

He leaned in closer to her and flashed his famous crooked-grin. "Just that I don't ever want to lose you," he breathed, then kissed her softly.

It was like someone had lit a thousand fireworks between their lips. James had known it would feel good, but he never dreamed it could ever possibly feel like this. With just one kiss, he knew he was hopelessly, desperately in love with her.

And she knew she was in love with him, too.

** Well, all I can say is that I really hope you guys liked it! I'm thinking that this is the end, but leave some reviews giving me your feedback and I'll decide. **


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